Turn your Mac laptop into a seismometer with SeisMac

SeisMac hits high on the cool and innovation scale of Mac Apps, by turning your Mac laptop into a seismometer. OK, some of you are surely asking yourself: what the hell is a seismometer? The short answer: an earthquake detector! Actually it detects all seismic activity, not just earthquakes. SeisMac works by tapping into your Mac laptops Sudden Motion Sensor, and graphing any motion on three axes: up/down, side to side, and back & forth, it does this live, instantly producing several graphs. Be sure to check out the screenshots below, and download SeisMac!

Whether or not this app will actually be useful for detecting any real earthquakes is debatable, but nevertheless SeisMac is just plain fun. The graphs it produces are immediate and it detected even slight vibrations and motions when I placed my MacBook on a desk. Beyond just being entertaining, SeisMac could be a great way to learn some basics about earth science for children (and adults).

SeisMac is compatible with any Mac equipped with a Sudden Motion Sensor, including the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and some PowerBook and iBook models.

SeisMac was created with support from the National Science Foundation
through the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, and it is Freeware!